Red Hair
by Lady Drama
Summary: A 5 year old James and 2 year Albus explain to their father why red hair cannot possibly exist. Light James/OC


_**Red Hair**_

**Author's Note: James is about 5 and Albus 2 years old at the time this scene takes place.**

"Dad?"

Harry Potter looked up from the paperwork he was finishing for the Auror Department. His capture of a particularly elusive Death Eater had been well publicized, both in Britain and abroad but long after the press photographers left, there was a pile of paperwork to finish before he could officially put the bastard in Azkaban.

"Yeah Al?"

"Does red hair exist?"

"Huh?"

"James says there's no such thing as red hair"

"Well James is hardly the Ultimate Fount of Truth and Wisdom is he?"

"But he's 3 whole years older than me Dad"

"And I'm 26 whole years older than you. Of course red hair exists"

"James says it doesn't"

The Chosen One now understood exactly what his wife had meant when she'd advised him to 'Take Care' before leaving for Shell Cottage the day before. He reflected bitterly that her tone alone should have been sufficient to warn him – it was exactly the same one she had used before he'd set out on his hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes.

"Get James up here"

Harry kept his paperwork aside and waited. A minute passed. He cleaned his glasses. Another minute. Still waiting. Five minutes. No sign of them. Finally, after 10 minutes he lost patience and went to James' room.

"Alright then, final offer, this one's a real bargain – if you do my chores this month, I'll come up with you"

"But you've already taken 2 of my Chocolate Frog Cards and 11 of the strawberry Bertie Botts Beans! And I accidentally bit into the clove and potty ones trying to find them for you!"

"Well that too was a good bargain for you – I stood up after that, didn't I? Now with this next deal I'll walk to Dad's room"

Harry decided to push the door open before his elder son could bankrupt his younger one and entered.

"There's no need. I'm here"

"Dad!" Albus exclaimed joyfully before turning to his brother and screaming "Give my Beans back!"

"No go, that particular deal's over. Only babies discuss deals after they're over"

Al considered this "Really?"

James nodded solemnly "Really"

"That's enough, both of you!" said their extremely harassed father, "James hand over Al's beans to him"

They looked at him in surprise.

"But Al's not a baby"

"He's right, I'm big. I don't discuss deals once they're over"

Harry gave up and got back to issue at hand.

"James, why did you tell Al that red hair doesn't exist?"

His son gave him a look so angelic and innocent that Harry immediately figured that something MAJOR was up. He mentally revised the locations of the emergency exits from the house.

" 'Cause it doesn't"

"Of course it does, your mother is a redhead! If you two haven't noticed that till now, you must be slower than your Uncle Ron, who has red hair too, by the way"

James waved his father's silly argument away "Uncle Ron is a boy"

"So?"

"I only said that girls don't have red hair. They can't."

"You mother does"

"She's not a girl"

"If you value the chocolate in your milk, don't let her hear you say that"

"All your cousins on your mom's side of the family have red hair"

"They're relatives! They don't count"

"Then who does?" asked an exasperated Harry, "Forget it. I give up. Red hair doesn't exist. I need to get back to relaxing things like Death Eaters to calm down now"

"Goodnight Daddy"

-

The next day, at about noon, Al rushed into his room and hid under the bed.

"What is it Al?" asked Ginny gently, wondering why her son looked so terrified.

"It's her!"

"Her?"

"The monster next door"

Ginny looked out of the window, puzzled. A small girl was sitting in the garden of the house opposite the Potter's, reading a book. Ginny saw James walk up to her and say something that made her laugh. She kept her book aside and before long she and James were running around the garden, playing with James' favorite yellow ball, which screamed 'Idiot!' and farted every time someone failed to catch it. The girl's flaming red hair fluttered behind her in the wind.

-

"Did you see her Al?"

Al looked up from under the covers of his bed, where his mother had tucked him a few minutes ago. He nodded, eyes wide with fear.

"See I told ya, red hair doesn't exist. And she has it, which means she's a big, bad monster in hiding. So don't go near her, 'kay?"

Al nodded again, promising that he'd stay far away from the monster next door.

-

Ginny still couldn't figure out why her husband had been staring at hair all day.

* * *

_My first ever attempt at Next Gen! So……_

_Review Please?_


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